The second tier is the over-the-counter market. That's where companies and individuals trade. The OTC has become very popular since there are now many companies that offer online trading platforms. New traders, starting with limited capital, need to know more about forex trading. It’s risky because the forex industry is not highly regulated and provides substantial leverage.
The service of the broker you choose, and the platform they offer, is essential in ensuring that you achieve the best trading results. If you were trading on a system that was slow and regularly crashed, for example, you might not be able to enter or exit a trade at the price you want. Instead, it's important to look for a broker that offers high levels of liquidity, low spreads and the ability to execute orders at the price you want (or as close to this as possible).
As mentioned earlier, in a long trade (also known as a buy trade), a trader will open a trade at the bid price, and will aim to close the trade at a higher price, making a profit on the difference between the opening and closing value of the currency pair. So if the EUR/USD bid price is 1.16667, and the trade closes at the price of 1.17568, the difference is 0.00901, or 90.1 pips. (When trading a single lot, that would make a 901 USD profit).
Leverage: Leverage is capital provided by a Forex broker to bolster their client's trading volume. For example, if you use a 1:10 rate of leverage and have $1,000 in your trading account, you can trade $10,000 worth of a currency pair. If the trade is successful, leverage will maximise your profits by a factor of 10. However, please note that leverage also multiplies your losses to the same degree, so it should be used with caution. If your account balance falls below $0, you may trigger a broker's negative balance protection settings (if trading with an ESMA regulated broker), which will result in the trade being closed. Fortunately, this means that your balance cannot move below $0, so you will not be in debt to the broker.

In the above hourly price chart, it is clear to see there has been multiple interactions with the 21 EMA. Sometimes price has bounced off the moving average and sometimes it has broken through. As it has bounced off more times than it has broken through this 'setup' can serve as the basis of this strategy. So now let's identify some rules around this.

Set realistic trading goals: It's important to be realistic with your trading expectations, as this will help you assess the best times to open and close trades. Many new Forex traders have very high expectations about their potential profits, and this causes them to trade very aggressively, with large sums of money and fast decisions. Again, start small to test your knowledge and skills, and as you start to reliably achieve the results you want, you can set bigger goals.

Stay calm: As exciting as trading can be, it is still stressful work. There will be a lot of setbacks on your way to the top. Emotions can force your hand to open a trade too early and/or close it too late. The main cause of stress for beginners in trading is the fact that some Forex trades will end in loss no matter what – it's just the way the market is. Just remember that war is not won with a single battle. Rather, it is overall performance that counts.
These cover the bulk of countries outside Europe. Forex brokers catering for India, Hong Kong, Qatar etc are likely to have regulation in one of the above, rather than every country they support. Some brands are regulated across the globe (one is even regulated in 5 continents). Some bodies issue licenses, and others have a register of legal firms.
The term CFD stands for 'Contract For Difference', and it is a contract used to represent the movement in the prices of financial instruments. In terms of Forex, this means that rather than purchasing and selling large amounts of currency, you can profit on price movements without owning the asset itself. Along with Forex, CFDs are also available on shares, indices, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies. In every case, they allow you to trade on the price movements of these instruments without having to purchase them.
If you're day trading a currency pair like the GBP/USD, you can risk $50 on each trade, and each pip of movement is worth $10 with a standard lot (100,000 units worth of currency). Therefore you can take a position of one standard lot with a 5-pip stop-loss order, which will keep the risk of loss to $50 on the trade. That also means a winning trade is worth $80 (8 pips x $10).
Big news comes in and then the market starts to spike or plummets rapidly. At this point it may be tempting to jump on the easy-money train, however, doing so without a disciplined trading plan behind you can be just as damaging as gambling before the news comes out. This is because illiquidity and sharp price movements mean a trade can quickly translate into significant losses as large swings take place or ‘whipsaw’.
This material does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments. Please note that such trading analysis is not a reliable indicator for any current or future performance, as circumstances may change over time. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisors to ensure you understand the risks.

This information can then allow traders to make judgements regarding a currency pair's price movement. For example, if a Japanese candlestick closes near the highest price for the period, that would imply that there is a strong interest on the part of buyers for this currency pair during that time period. A trader might then decide to open a long trade to take advantage of that interest.

International parity conditions: Relative purchasing power parity, interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect. Though to some extent the above theories provide logical explanation for the fluctuations in exchange rates, yet these theories falter as they are based on challengeable assumptions [e.g., free flow of goods, services and capital] which seldom hold true in the real world.
Trading currencies is the act of making predictions based on minuscule variations in the global economy and buying and selling accordingly. The exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. Forex traders use available data to analyze currencies and countries like you would companies, thereby using economic forecasts to gain an idea of the currency's true value.
Fluctuations in exchange rates are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows. These are caused by changes in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation (purchasing power parity theory), interest rates (interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect), budget and trade deficits or surpluses, large cross-border M&A deals and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers' order flow.
The market determines the value, also known as an exchange rate, of the majority of currencies. Foreign exchange can be as simple as changing one currency for another at a local bank. It can also involve trading currency on the foreign exchange market. For example, a trader is betting a central bank will ease or tighten monetary policy and that one currency will strengthen versus the other.
Set realistic trading goals: It's important to be realistic with your trading expectations, as this will help you assess the best times to open and close trades. Many new Forex traders have very high expectations about their potential profits, and this causes them to trade very aggressively, with large sums of money and fast decisions. Again, start small to test your knowledge and skills, and as you start to reliably achieve the results you want, you can set bigger goals.
Many people like trading foreign currencies on the foreign exchange (forex) market because it requires the least amount of capital to start day trading. Forex trades 24 hours a day during the week and offers a lot of profit potential due to the leverage provided by forex brokers. Forex trading can be extremely volatile and an inexperienced trader can lose substantial sums.
Currency carry trade refers to the act of borrowing one currency that has a low interest rate in order to purchase another with a higher interest rate. A large difference in rates can be highly profitable for the trader, especially if high leverage is used. However, with all levered investments this is a double edged sword, and large exchange rate price fluctuations can suddenly swing trades into huge losses.

Managing your money in Forex trading comes down to the specific measures you use to increase your profits, whilst also minimising potential losses. Successful Forex trading has far more to do with effective money management than having a handful of good trades, and is one of the secrets that separates those who successfully trade FX over the long term, from those who give up after a couple of trades.

Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
Currency speculation is considered a highly suspect activity in many countries.[where?] While investment in traditional financial instruments like bonds or stocks often is considered to contribute positively to economic growth by providing capital, currency speculation does not; according to this view, it is simply gambling that often interferes with economic policy. For example, in 1992, currency speculation forced Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, to raise interest rates for a few days to 500% per annum, and later to devalue the krona.[82] Mahathir Mohamad, one of the former Prime Ministers of Malaysia, is one well-known proponent of this view. He blamed the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit in 1997 on George Soros and other speculators.
Just like stocks, you can trade currency based on what you think its value is (or where it's headed). But the big difference with forex is that you can trade up or down just as easily. If you think a currency will increase in value, you can buy it. If you think it will decrease, you can sell it. With a market this large, finding a buyer when you're selling and a seller when you're buying is much easier than in in other markets. Maybe you hear on the news that China is devaluing its currency to draw more foreign business into its country. If you think that trend will continue, you could make a forex trade by selling the Chinese currency against another currency, say, the US dollar. The more the Chinese currency devalues against the US dollar, the higher your profits. If the Chinese currency increases in value while you have your sell position open, then your losses increase and you want to get out of the trade.